CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is appalled at the anti-citizen ignorance of McAllen City Commissioner’s candidate, Debbie Crane Aliseda, who equates early voting to voter fraud. What’s worse? Other candidates echoed her ignorance.

A hot rumor about Adrian Garcia declaring for mayor of Houston turned out to be only that, but PDiddie at Brains and Eggs — as someone really well-connected once said — “ran the traps on everything”. (A city council candidate did announce at that same breakfast meeting, for whatever that might be worth.)

San Antonio Mayor Ivy R. Taylor is really liking her new job. So much so, that she wants to keep it. The Interim Mayor despite being appointed last July in part because she promised not to seek the position, has had a change of mind. Here’s more from Josh Baugh of the San Antonio Express-News…

Mayor Ivy Taylor declared her candidacy for mayor Monday in an exclusive interview with the San Antonio Express-News.

Taylor, who was appointed mayor last summer by her council colleagues, said that she made the decision after significant thought and prayer and consultation with trusted advisers.

The mayor said she’s been “honored and excited, humbled” by leading the seventh-largest city in the U.S. since her July appointment.

“I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be able to make an impact here,” she said. “And just after really thinking about it further, I realize how important that experience is that I have to bring to the table, that municipal-level experience.”

[…]

With less than three months until Election Day, she joins an already-crowded field of candidates.

That field includes former state Rep. Mike Villarreal, who has been campaigning since last summer; state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who entered the race in November after losing her bid for lieutenant governor; and former Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, who gave up his county seat to challenge Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff in the 2014 Democratic primary.

The Mayor’s flip-flop in position may be offensive to some, but it’s far from unique for this race and unlikely to do any damage to her candidacy. Former State Senator Leticia Van de Putte also originally stated that she would not run for Mayor during her campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

However Taylor’s opposition to the 2013 Non-Discrimination Ordinance could prove troublesome, in particular the comment she made stating that the struggles of the LGBT community “aren’t a Civil Rights issue.” Given the strong positions of both Villarreal and Van de Putte with the Pro-Equality community, Taylor’s anti-LGBT sentiment could come back to haunt her in the Mayor’s race. And for Equality advocates, now is the time to press Taylor and see if her views have also evolved on this subject.

With this newest entrant into the contest to lead Texas’ 2nd-largest city, equality has found its way back into the spotlight. More to come on this.

With the New Year comes a whole crop of new leaders for the Lone Star State. With the election of Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and everyone else, Texas has now had its most significant transition of power in the 21st century. Indeed, Abbott will only be the second person to hold the state’s top job in this century.

But despite the time-tested song lyric, old acquaintance shall not be forgot, at least not totally. Ex-Governor Rick Perry is sure to dominate the news cycle as he mounts his second run to be President of the United States. Funny… for a guy that spends so much time complaining about the “burdens of government”, Perry sure does seem to enjoy government jobs. It’s quite ironic.

The other really big news comes from Austin, as lawmakers reconvene for the 2015 legislative session. Despite strong campaign pledges to the contrary, pressures are mounting for the legislature to find a Texas solution for Medicaid Expansion. If left undone, state hospital funding sources will be decimated, and many more smaller healthcare facilities will be forced to close down. Whether Republicans hold ideological opposition to the law or not, ignoring the issue could spell certain doom for the state’s rural hospitals.

Fracking will also monopolize much political attention this year, as the lege tries to deal with how to punish the citizens of Denton for voting to ban the controversial practice within their municipality. Legislators also have to figure out a response to new clean air proposals for the EPA from the Obama administration, which would force the state to cut pollutants.

It’s no secret that the composition of the 2015 legislature will be much further to the fringe right than virtually any previous year. Which is why it shouldn’t be surprising to see that a bunch of Anti-Equality legislation has already been filed in advance of the upcoming session. As LGBT rights watchdog John Wright reports for the Texas Observer, it could be a tough couple of months for the Texas LGBT community…

…a month before the session begins, the flurry of legislation suggests that, thanks in part to the legalization of same-sex marriage across much of the nation, conservatives will challenge gay rights in the name of religious freedom in the 84th Texas Legislature.

[…]

Experts say the amendments could limit cities’ ability to enforce LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances. In addition to Plano, cities that have passed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances include Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.

That’s because business owners could claim exemptions from the ordinances if they have sincerely held religious beliefs—such as opposition to same-sex marriage—making it legal for them to fire employees for being gay or refuse service to LGBT customers.

“It blows a hole in your nondiscrimination protections if people can ignore them for religious reasons,” said Jenny Pizer, senior counsel at the LGBT civil rights group Lambda Legal.

These “license to discriminate” bills will definitely be something to watch out for in Austin starting next week. But this week, all of the major legal action will take place in New Orleans, as the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear challenges against the state’s marriage ban. As the nation’s most Conservative appeals court, no one is quite sure how the ruling will come out.

Finally, just because the 2014 election fever has broken doesn’t mean that the fun stops until November 2016. This month, there will be a whopping 3 special elections, as voters try to fill seats vacated by State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Rep. Mike Villarreal and Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt.

Whatever triumphs and challenges lie ahead, you can be sure that Texas Leftist is on the case for 2015. No matter who leads in the state house or City Hall, the Progressive, Common-Sense Agenda will always be a a vital part of Texas politics.

Though the dust hasn’t even begun to settle on 2014’s contest, it’s pretty amazing how one tweet can set off a whole new political firestorm. But such was the case this week in San Antonio, where a recently defeated Democrat is proving that she still has plenty of political clout. Here’s what’s going on from the Houston Chronicle, via AP…

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Democrat Leticia Van de Putte says she will likely decide next week whether to leave the Texas Senate and run for San Antonio mayor.

Van de Putte said Monday she has long admired her local government and praised former Mayor Julian Castro, who gave the office a higher profile as an up-and-coming Democrat.

Van de Putte spent the past year running for lieutenant governor but lost badly to Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick.

Others are already eyeballing Van de Putte’s seat. Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer says he will give serious consideration to make a run at the upper chamber if Van de Putte steps down.

Van de Putte says she is focusing this week on a charity event in honor of her late grandson who died last year.

Along with Martinez Fischer, fellow State Rep Jose Menendez is also closely vying for the possible Senate seat. Further complicating matters is Rep. Mike Villarreal, who officially declared his race for Mayor and resigned from the Legislature within days of the November results being read. Van de Putte jumping in would pose a serious challenge to his hopes of being the Alamo City’s top elected official.

Two paths to consider here… what’s best for the Senate, and what’s best for Leticia Van de Putte. Given that the person on the Dais was her opponent for this election season, it’s understandable why Van de Putte may not feel welcome at the Capitol for the upcoming legislative session. But that aside, losing the experienced state Senator means that we also lose an important bipartisan voice in the state. Again, that assumes that she’d be welcome in the first place with the new leadership in town.

What’s best for Van de Putte? It’s true that she lost her campaign for Lieutenant Governor. But what she gained is a massive improvement in stature and name ID, and has risen to the top ranks among all Texas Democrats. The nonpartisan City Council, where Van de Putte could actually set the legislative agenda and get things passed seems a much better position to launch another statewide run than suffering under a boastful Lieutenant Governor in Austin. It’s unlikely at this point that much in the way of bipartisan cooperation is going to be achieved anyway.

By any account, it’s a tough choice given the grueling months the whole Van de Putte family just spent on the campaign trail. Though we don’t know her next role, at least this much is clear… we’re not even close to Leticia Van de Putte’s finale in Texas politics.